Stargate SG-1: Season 10

The final episodes of the known universe’s longest-running science fiction series are thoroughly enjoyable, perhaps all the more so in the knowledge that Stargate appears to have resurrected itself as a number of DVD movies. Its cancellation by SciFi channel marks its second termination – it was originally a production of the Showtime network – but it clearly intends to live on.

Arguably having blown through pretty well all the obvious science fiction devices and concepts that lend themselves to tales suitable for telling in forty minutes, the tenth season of Stargate SG-1 entangles itself in a sprawling story arc in which the galaxy is poised for invasion by a race of fundy religious extremists. You can decide which fundy extreme religion they’re ostensibly based on. You just couldn’t ask for a better collection of villains – they have no redeeming qualities at all, they’re easy to loath and they always look surprised when they get zapped.

With nine previous seasons behind them, the writers and actors responsible for Stargate SG-1 are at the zenith of their craft in this set of shows. The stories move with stealthy determination, every plot element is expertly deployed and every facial expression and wry comment is delivered with laser-sharp precision. Of course, they have much more colorful weapons than mere lasers.

The CGI, while sparingly employed, is exemplary. The video and audio quality of the episodes are flawless.

There are a few digressions in this collection, most notably the celebratory two-hundredth episode, perhaps not surprisingly entitled “200.” Its tongue is pressed into its cheek with sufficient force to cause tissue damage, and the joke seems to expire some while before the show does.

The final episode, “Unending,” is breathtaking.

In addition to the tenth season episodes itself, this DVD collection includes several documentaries, behind the camera interviews and a trailer for The Ark of Truth, the first of the Stargate movies.

Indeed.